North Bay will welcome an all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan during the FIRST Robotics FRC competition March 30-31 at Nipissing University.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Canada made the announcement this week.

The all-girls robotics team attracted international attention after its members journeyed 800 kilometres to the American embassy in Kabul, only to have their visas rejected twice preventing them from traveling to the U.S. to participate in FIRST Global Challenge, FIRST Robotics Canada says.

One week prior to the event, the girls were finally granted entry into the United States and were able to compete.

While in Ontario, the Afghan girls are joining FRC all-girls team SWAT 771 from St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School in Oakville to build a robot and participate in competitions in Toronto and North Bay.

“FIRST Robotics Canada is thrilled that the Afghan robotics team will be joining us in our district and competing with FIRST Team 771,” says Mark Breadner, president of FIRST Robotics Canada. “We want to welcome them and are convinced they will have a great experience and make many new friends here in Ontario.”

SWAT 771 is the senior robotics team of St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School, an all-girls school in Oakville, which holds the title of being the first Canadian all-girls team. It remains the only Canadian team to win the prestigious World Engineering Inspiration Award at the FIRST Robotics World Championships.

FIRST is an international non-profit organization designed to inspire students to pursue studies and careers in science, engineering and technology.

More than 400,000 students participate in FIRST programs worldwide. FIRST Robotics Canada, which started in 2002, has more than 1,000 teams in Canada and now reaches more than 20,000 Canadian students. More information can be found at www.firstroboticscanada.org.